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West Midlands mayoral debate

Concluding proceedings

That’s all folks. Thanks for joining us for our live coverage this evening.

We’ll be bringing you a round-up story on the event shortly.

Until then, please enjoy the other content on our website!

20:43Simon Gilbert

Closing statements

We’re now onto closing statements. They’ve been asked why people should vote for them.

James Burn, Green, starts. He says half the children in this region don’t have the money for a socially acceptable standard of living.

He wants to address that.

Peter Durnell, UKIP, says more positions are being created on the WMCA and it’s a new layer of government you are paying for that many didn’t want. He says if he’s elected you will know exactly what’s going on and he will keep the WMCA clean and lean.

Sion Simon, Labour, says his main message is vote. Ideally vote Labour, but most importantly this is a chance to start a process of taking back control and running our own affairs in the region.

Beverley Nielsen, Lib Dem says we are facing a great opportunity to reform the way we grow our economy. She thinks the Brexit vote was a vote for the people who had been passed by by the economy.

She wants unskilled people to be upskilled and adult education and schools improved. She says she will champion Coventry and the region.

Andy Street, Tory, says I am putting before you an ambitious renewal plan that will restore pride in the West Midlands.

It’s not full of political soundbites, it’s deliverable and will make a difference to Coventry and its residents.

20:43Simon Gilbert

A regional plan for housing and employment?

Candidates have been asked if here should be a regional plan for housing and employment.

All say various versions of yes.

20:42Simon Gilbert

The final part

Kevin Johnson has now taken over after the public section of the debate draws to a close.

Peter Burns, former Chamber of Commerce president, has been asked for a summary of what they had to say on land and planning issues.

He says we have a major problem with insufficient employment land. If we want this area to thrive and grow we need that land.

20:41Simon Gilbert

Experience of homelessness

Paul Curtis in the region says he was homeless and it’s 90 per cent about drug addiction. He says it can be ended if you solve the drug addiction and take money from proceeds of crime to build housing. Are you going to do that?

James Burn, Green, says he would work to stop criminal proceeds going into drugs.

Green candidate James Burn at the Telegraph West Midlands mayoral debate

20:40Simon Gilbert

Answers on homelessness

Pete Durnell, UKIP, says it’s shameful that ex-military personnel end up on the street and real action needs to be taken.

James Burn, Green, says it’s a national scandal and the reason people are homeless is there are not enough homes. He says it’s about taking action.

Andy Street, Conservative, says he has a clear action plan around homelessness which shames us as a region. He says he will personally lead a taskforce that will not discuss but coordinate action.

Green candidate James Burn at the Telegraph West Midlands mayoral debate

20:37Simon Gilbert

What about homelessness?

David Spurgeon: How would you tackle the issue of homelessness which is a major issue in Birmingham, Coventry and other West Midlands towns? The public ‘face’ of the problem is people sleeping rough in town centres, begging etc.

20:36Simon Gilbert

More on engagement

Mark Taylor, a UKIP member in the audience, says it’s seen as an erosion of local democracy.

Beverley Nielsen, Lib Dem, disagrees and says it’s a chance for the region to invest in success.

She says this is a chance to invest in a different sort of economy and make a difference to our future.

How to increase engagement

Candidates asked how engagement would be increased to make people take notice.

UKIP candidate Pete Durnell says it’s about speaking to as many people as possible to vote to give mayor a real mandate.

Andy Street, Tory, says he thinks turnout will be about 30 per cent and wants to drive home that this is about the future of our kids.

James Burn, Green, says he doesn’t believe he can get people to the polls. Applause in the audience. He says it’s clear people don’t want this mayor.

20:24Simon Gilbert

Green view on housing

James Burn, Green, says housing is a massive crisis. He says we can look at putting empty houses into use and putting smaller builds into use and take action on land banking.

He says after that there would still be a housing crisis.

He says the only way out is a massive injection of government cash into building houses.

He says yes we can and should build on brownfield, we can look at density, but we are going to have to start building on green land.

The choice is do we want people sleeping on streets or do we have a sensible conversation about where housing goes.

20:24Simon Gilbert

Building on green belt

Peter Burns in the audience says that green belt does need to get built on at some point.

He says there’s a shortage of brown field sites and not enough employment sites.

Andy Street, Tory, says green belt should only be used when absolutely necessary. He says this is more difficult in Coventry than anywhere else.

He wants to bring brownfield sites into use by securing funding for decontamination etc. He also wants to look at unused homes.

He also talks about greater density of development in the city centre.

He says only then do we move to green field developments. He says he will fight to prevent them.

20:16Simon Gilbert

The candidates reply

Pete Durnell, UKIP, says he wants brown field to be used before green belt sites. He says the Labour council here should look at it again.Pete Durnell, UKIP, says he wants brown field to be used before green belt sites. He says the Labour council here should look at it again.

UKIP West Midlands mayoral candidate Pete Durnell

20:16Simon Gilbert

Question four

From Rebecca Harrington: How would each candidate tackle the housing shortage within the Midlands?

20:15Simon Gilbert

Street questions Nielsen

Conservative Andy Street asks Beverley Nielsen about her suggestion an urban growth company should lead on development in Coventry.

Ms Nielsen says it would work with the city council rather than under it.

UKIP and Lib Dems have their say on HS2

Pete Durnell UKIP, says he thinks it’s good for jobs but he doubts services to Coventry can be preserved.

He does not believe it will benefit the Black Country.

Lib Dem Beverley Nielsen says HS2 will benefit the region. She says Coventry reducing services to London from three to two an hour in exchange for greater connectivity to Nuneaton could be a good trade off.

She says Coventry needs a comprehensive plan. What we have in Coventry is fragmented roads investment, but we need to link up infrastructure.

She wants Coventry to be a cycling city and more investment in low carbon travel like electric cars and bikes.

She wants the universities to drive that.

20:07Simon Gilbert

Street replies on HS2

Tory candidate Andy Street says he’s prepared to make tough decisions for the region. He says he has been fighting for HS2 and thinks it will be a huge shot in the arm for our region.

He says it puts the region at the heart of the transport infrastructure for the whole country.

He says there will be £4.4bn in the growth deal to invest in transport in the region. He says he has improvements to Kenilworth and Nuneaton in his manifesto.

He says HS2 is going to benefit the whole region, it’s a good thing for the region.

Candidates reply on HS2

Labour’s Sion Simon says he will say to the government that train services to Coventry from London must be preserved. He says it would be over his dead body.

He says there’s no point in debating whether HS2 will happen, it’s going to happen anyway.

He says he wants a light rail system to connect Coventry t HS2 and other parts of the city. He doesn’t like the idea of sprint buses.

20:05Simon Gilbert

What about HS2

Former Coventry City chairman Joe Elliott is speaking about HS2 from the audience.

He helped lead the “No” campaign for a city mayor.

He asks how the candidates are going to deal with the “white elephant” of HS2.

He says it does no good for Coventry at all.

19:56Simon Gilbert

Candidates reply

Pete Durnell, UKIP, says his party is passionately opposed to HS2.

He believes money would have been better spent elsewhere across the region.

James Burn, Green candidate, says we are being given a very small amount of money as mayor and we have to decide where that goes.

He wants to invest in least well off areas, not the most well off.

19:55Simon Gilbert

Question three

From Charmion Roberts: There is a lot of public outcry about ‘fairness’ floating around - especially with recent policy gaffs re tax and school funding... how will the New Combined Mayor ensure future ‘fairness and equity in devolved funding for transport and economic development’ is sustained for Coventry which is being bypassed by HS2.

19:45Simon Gilbert

The candidates reply

Labour’s Sion Simon says it’s best to measure success after three years when the second election will be. He says to make a big and meaningful difference in a region of this size can be done in three years.

He says he would publish an independent and audited report after three years outlining costs and money generated and, if there’s not a surplus balance, he won’t stand again.

He says he’s happy to be judged after three years on the things he said he would do.

He says it’s about delivering for the people not getting stuck in the political process.

Beverley Nielson, Lib Dem, says she would produce a scorecard that ensures we are producing inclusive fgrowth across the region.

She says it’s about bringing people together and a collaborative plan.

Sion Simon (Labour) at the Telegraph's West Midlands mayoral debate

19:42Simon Gilbert

Question two

From John Taylor: With the WMCA seven council leaders desperately trying to control and limit the powers of the Mayor, what will success look like in one year, if you are elected?

19:41Simon Gilbert

Candidates respond to first reader's question

Lib Dem Beverley Nielsen says there needs to be a better look at the scrutiny process and the mayor needs to ensure they remain in touch with the electorate.

UKIP’s Pete Durnell says he would be more than happy to do that. He doesn’t believe combined authorities are the way to go - but his personal opinion is that it does need a mayor.

Green Party’s James Burns says Coventry councillors have voted to impose a mayor on you. He says he voted for a referendum as a councillor in Solihull. He says WMCA will be made up of people largely made up not elected to be there. Would I have the vote? I think after a year you haven’t made the case for a mayor, then why not?

19:38Simon Gilbert

Readers' questions

Question one

Jane Nellist: Given that a majority of people who voted in Coventry and Birmingham voted against the idea of a city mayor, and the rest of the region weren’t asked, would you agree to run a referendum alongside the District Council elections in the West Midlands in May 2018, to give people the chance to vote on whether this experiment should continue or not?

19:36Simon Gilbert

Telegraph editor steers next stage

Telegraph editor Keith Perry has now taken over proceedings.

He says there are sections of Coventry that don’t want a mayor or to be in a combined authority but we are where we are and it’s important to end up with a mayor who can fight our corner in Westminster.

We’re now onto readers’ questions.

19:33Simon Gilbert

Making the most of universities

The candidates have been asked how they will use the university sector in the region.

UKIP candidate Pete Durnell says there is too much bureaucracy involved and he would engage them as much as possible. He says they are important.

The Green Party’s James Burn talks about the industrial revolution and says that happened because people shared their knowledge and expertise and travelled the region.

He says it’s about networking and the transfer of the universities’ skills, particularly into manufacturing, to allow us to be more innovative.

Labour’s Sion Simon says he agrees with the previous speakers. He says universities are an absolutely key strength of the West Midlands economy. He says they are essential to the region’s success.

Andy Street from the Conservatives is up now. He says he would want the universities to use their economic knowledge to call the combined authority out.

He wants to use manufacturing knowledge to help look forward. He says you use the universities to help attract funding from government.

Lib Dem Beverley Nielson says the universities are the engine room of the economy. She says we have more students than anywhere else and we are not using that goldmine.

She adds there is too much of a brain drain in the region.

19:31Simon Gilbert

Growth under the Greens

Mr Burn is asked about whether he believes in slower growth.

He says he believes in different growth, inclusive growth and shared growth rather than growth for the rich.

19:29Simon Gilbert

Over to the Greens

Green Party candidate James Burn is last up.

He says he wants to be mayor because of the level of homelessness and poverty in the region.

He says too many people are stuck in low skilled low income jobs and that he wants to make sure the region is not run exclusively by older white men.

He says he wants to be mayor because the plans make no reference to inequality and that’s inexcusable.

In conclusion he says it’s important not to leave anyone behind and make sure the most vulnerable citizens are welcomed into the heart of our community.

19:27Simon Gilbert

Culture question

Pete Durnell is asked how he will help Coventry become UK City of Culture.

He says he will speak to as many people as possible and get the universities and businesses together.

19:25Simon Gilbert

UKIP candidate stresses Coventry connections

UKIP candidate Pete Durnell is now up.

He says he was a Coventry University student.

He says UKIP does not support the combined authority, but we’re “stuck with it”. He says it’s important to choose the right mayor as it’s the only input the region will have.

UKIP believes in less government not more. We should not be setting up a whole new area of government he says.

He says there are a lot of problems across the region and he want to ensure the West Midlands is not at the back of the queue for funding.